When It's All You Have Left
by draagonfly
Summary: Ginny is haunted by her past, to the point of depression. (Contains rape, prostitution, slash, and self mutilation - be warned)
1. When she's just trying to hide it

            He was descending on her, his body slowly coming into focus. "I'm going to kill you, Virginia." She started to cry softly. "And when you're dead, and all that is left of you is your body, I will be completely restored." Every second he was moving closer to her. "And then, when I feel…_alive_ again," he said, laughing, "I'm going to fuck your dead body."

            A river of tears was running down her face.

            "And do you know why, Virginia?" She whimpered, cowering on the floor, already too weak to stand. "Do you know why I'm going to do that?" He smiled, showing his white teeth. She was trying to hold herself up on her elbows, but it was no use. The process was almost complete. "Because…I can." 

            Ginny could tell she only had about 10 more minutes. She had been there, down in the chamber, for hours. The slow process of transferring her life into him was almost complete. He had told her that she would lose consciousness about 10 minutes before it was over. 'So you won't even get to watch. Such a shame,' he had said. 

            Slowly, she began to feel drowsy. As the last seconds of consciousness left her, she passed out, her arms slowly sliding out from under her as she slid down onto the ground.

            *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Her eyes shot open. "TOM!" she screamed loudly. 

"Ginny!" came a voice from beyond the red curtain surrounding her.

She was safe in her bed in the dormitory she shared with the rest of the Gryffindor 6th year girls. It had been a dream.

"Are you…alright?" asked her roommate Gwen, pulling her curtain open.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for waking you." Ginny pulled the curtain shut again, and stayed there until the breathing of her roommates became regular, before slipping out of bed and into the bathroom.

            Tears running down her face, she closed the door and locked it, also performing a sealing charm and a silencing charm on the room. She turned to the cabinet which held her roommates belongings, digging through to find her own bag. Pulling it out of the cabinet, she sobbed loudly, knowing that nobody would hear her. 

            She undid the zipper on her bag and opened the tiny hidden pocket on the inside of it, pulling the razor blade out and dropping the bag to the floor. 

            She slid her pajama sleeve up past her elbow, revealing hundreds, maybe thousands of scars. Some were long, white, thin scars, from years ago. Many, however, were more recent. Red, swollen, some even still scabbed.

            She held the blade against her forearm, pressing it against her skin. She crunched up her eyes, holding her breath. After a few moments, she slid the blade sideways, watching it sink into her pale flesh. 

            After watching the blood flow freely onto the floor for several minutes, she let her breath out, stood and turned the water on in the sink. She ran the warm water over the fresh cut, gasping through her teeth when the liquid first hit the wound.

            She turned off the water, placing a cloth over the cut and pressing, while quickly performing a cleaning spell for the puddle of blood left on the floor.

            Still pressing the cloth to her arm, she pulled out a piece of scrap material which she kept hidden in her bag as well and, using her wand, tied the cloth tightly around her arm.

            Pulling her sleeve down over the makeshift bandage, she removed the sealing charm from the door and made her way out of the dormitory, down the stairs, up the next flight of stairs and, quietly, into the 7th year boys dormitory.

            Knowing where Harry hid his invisibility cloak, she opened his trunk, dug through, and quietly opened the package. Pulling the cloak from the trunk, she silently pulled it over her shoulders, drawing up the hood to hide her head. Checking to make sure that her feet were hidden, she glided, now invisible, out of the room. Once out of the Gryffindor common room, she made her way slowly to the second floor girls' toilets.

            Hoping to all higher powers that Myrtle was asleep or out of the room, she dropped the cloak to the floor and stepped forward.

            Walking slowly around the island of sinks, she came to the one that didn't work; the entrance to the chamber.

            When Harry Potter had stabbed the basilisk's tooth into the diary, all of the life that had been transferred into Tom Riddle had been transferred back into her. But something strange had happened. 

            When Ginny's life energy had been transferred into Tom, it was changed; sort of…molded, to fit him. When she got it back, she got some of his life's 'shape,' for lack of a better word. Some of him was imprinted into her life.

            In other words, she had inherited his Parselmouth abilities. She could speak the language of the serpents.

            It scared her a little, that she could speak it. But it was dead useful. She was absolutely terrified of the chamber, but that was why she went down there. It was relieving. It gave her the same numbness as cutting, and she was addicted.

            "Open up," she whispered in the strange hissing of the snakes. The sinks slid outward, making the grinding sound of stone on stone, and the broken sink sunk into the ground, revealing a wide, slimy looking tunnel.

            She took a deep breath and, holding it, slid down and dropped into the hole.


	2. When someone finds out

(A/N – I know Draco is out of character. You'll find out why in a bit. Ginny however is not out of character. She's out of cannon, but honestly…her cannon is the embodiment of innocence…but how could she be sweet and happy and smart and, well, normal…after what happened to her? So although she is not how I would normally write her, she is not out of character.)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When she reached the bottom of the tunnel, she released her breath. She walked across the pile of old bones, left behind from the basilisk's feasts. The sound of bones crunching under her feet made her wince slightly, but she kept going. She needed to get to the chamber; needed the rush she got from it.

            The darkness of the tunnel surrounded her, but she didn't light her wand. She liked the fear that the danger of darkness gave her. 

            Placing her hand on the wall for support, she made her way down the tunnel. When she finally reached the chamber, she used her wand to light the torches. Looking around, she could see her own blood, dried after years of being here, all over the floor. She gasped loudly when she realized there was already someone here, sitting on the ground in the darkness. 

            The hooded and cloaked figure turned at her gasp, causing his hood to fall from his head. Ginny gasped again when she realized who it was.

            "Malfoy?" she said questioningly.

            "Weasley? What the fuck are you doing down here?" he asked, sounding surprised and angry.

            "I…well…what are you doing down here? And how did you get in…you can't speak parseltongue!" 

            "I cheated…since when can _you_ speak parseltongue?"

            She looked away. "Since my first year."

            His eyes widened. "Oh. I guess that would be my father's fault then, wouldn't it."

            Ginny looked him right in the eye. "Yes."

            "He's in prison now, thanks to your friend Potter."

            "He is not my friend," Ginny said. He looked strangely at her. "He thinks he is…but he doesn't even know who I am."

            "Oh, it's like that. Well if it's any consolation, nobody knows who I am either."

            Ginny nodded. "Yeah…doesn't surprise me. Hey…why are you talking to me?"

            He shrugged. "I don't know. Why not?"

            "Doesn't seem like you…"

            "Well coming down here doesn't exactly seem like something you would do either," he replied quickly.

            "Don't tell anyone."

            "I won't if you don't."

            "Alright."

            "So why did you come down here anyway?" he asked her curiously.

Ginny sat down on the ground a few feet away from him and, forgetting about her arm, slid her pajama shirt off, leaving only a tank top and her makeshift bandage. "Nightmares."

Draco eyed her strangely. Wondering what he was looking at, Ginny looked down in the direction she thought Draco was looking. "Oh shit," she said quietly.

"If you don't want to tell me, I won't ask." She shrugged. HE slid a little closer to her and reached slowly towards her arm. She winced a bit but did not pull away. Seeing this as an invitation, he began untying the scrap of material that held the cloth tightly to her skin. When he was finished, the cloth fell to the ground, revealing her heavily scared arm.

The newest cut was still open, and tiny drops of blood ran down her arm. Once again feeling the rush of relief that cutting gave her, Ginny sighed quietly and closed her eyes.

"When did you do that?" Draco asked.

"I dunno…twenty minutes ago," Ginny replied, her eyes still closed.

Draco wiped the blood away and tied the cloth tightly on her arm again.

She looked sadly into his eyes as silent tears began trickling slowly from hers. She looked down at the ground. "Sorry," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"Shhhh," he whispered back.

She smiled weakly at him. "You're really different."

"So are you…"


	3. When he kissed her

"So how did you get in here?" Ginny asked, her voice barely above a whisper and yet still sounding like she was genuinely interested.

"I have a magical voice recording of potter speaking parseltongue. Don't actually know what it's saying though…"

"Play it," said Ginny.

"Alright…" He pulled his wand from his pocket and whispered an incantation. 

A strange hissing sound came from the wand, but Ginny heard Harry's voice saying 'open up.'

"It says 'open up'," Ginny said. 

Draco eyed her strangely. "What? I can't understand it, you know…"

"Oh, did I…" Ginny blushed. "I tend to do that when I'm upset. I yelled at Ron in parseltongue once. He didn't really notice though. It says 'open up'."

He nodded. "Very creative."

Ginny smiled. "So why are you down here?"

"…Couldn't sleep," Draco replied hesitantly.

Ginny looked questioningly at him. "I'm not going to tell anyone, you know."

Draco looked at the ground and sighed. "I'm going home this weekend to be marked," he said quietly, as if hoping that she might not hear him if he spoke quietly enough.

Ginny looked gravely at him. "So…you don't want it, I'm assuming?" 

"No." Draco answered quickly.

Ginny sat, staring into his steel grey eyes. He leaned towards her slowly, and she closed her eyes and leaned closer to him. Their lips met briefly, before he pulled away. He stared at her for a second before rushing at her face again. She slid her hands around his neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. 

When Draco finally pulled away, after several moments, Ginny looked genuinely shocked. "Um…wow…I-" But Draco cut her off, leaning in and kissing her again. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pulling away from Draco, after having been making out for, well, she didn't know how long, Ginny looked down at her watch. "Oh God. I have to go. It's nearly seven."

"Oh shit, I have to go too. I'll…see you around." Draco added slowly. He jumped up and took off down the tunnel.

"Come back tonight…" Ginny called after him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

By the time Ginny's last class of the week, transfiguration, was over, she was exhausted. She was thankful that it was Friday. She sat in the common room trying to concentrate on her potions essay, but her mind was elsewhere; in the chamber with Draco. 

She had been unable to think of anything else all day. In charms, they had been practicing advanced shield charms and, lost in thought, she had been stunned and disarmed repeatedly for the entire class. She was still a little sore from falling to the floor over and over.

Giving up on her homework, she decided to go flying. She had played seeker for Gryffindor the previous year since Harry had been banned. When the new school year had started, Harry had been put back on the team, and Ginny had taken over one of the twins' positions, turning out to be extremely skilled as a beater. As a gift from her parents she had been given a Nimbus 2000, which was now technically not considered a very good broom, but it was still quite fast. 

When she reached the pitch, she found it empty. Thankful for this, she took off into the air from the outside of the stadium, flying over the seats and onto the pitch. She flew around the goal posts a few times before deciding she didn't want the boundaries of the pitch and took off to go fly over the forest for a bit.

She flew out over the forest for a bit, and then found a small break in the trees. She lowered down into the trees and landed in the darkness of the forest. It was cool and slightly breezy down there, and it was refreshing. Ginny took a deep breath and looked around. It was silent, except for the whisper of the wind. The leaves on the trees moved slightly, and the ground was mossy but dry. It was almost summer, and it had been quite warm lately, with little rain. 

The wind caught under her robe and lifted it, revealing her skirt which had been rolled up so that it came almost half way between her hips and her knees. It was her attempt at looking slightly better, as her robes and school uniforms were all second hand, and she hated it. 

She heard a loud, sharp clang from behind her, and turned to see nothing out of the ordinary. She assumed that the noise had come from somewhere in the general direction she was looking, but she couldn't see through the dense foliage. Grabbing her broom, she slid slowly and as quietly as possible, toward the noise. Then she heard another clang and a loud grunt. 

"Nice block!" came a voice through the trees. Ginny's eyes widened. That was Remus Lupin's voice! She stepped around the tree she was behind expecting there to bee more trees between her and the other people, but found herself on the edge of a clearing, in plain view of Remus and Harry, fighting with swords. 

Harry caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and nearly dropped his sword. "Ginny! What are you doing here?"

"Um…I was flying," she said, holding up her broom, "and I heard your swords. What are you doing?"

Harry glance at Remus, who looked worried for a moment but the nodded slightly.

"I'm training. Old Voldie is great with magic but our wands don't work against each other, so if I learn to fight I have the advantage. Plus it's great exercise. Look at this," he said, pulling the sleeve of his t-shirt up and flexing his muscle.

Ginny laughed at that. "I see. So how long have you been doing this?"

"About a year. There are protective spells around to keep out wild animals, but I guess we never thought a human would find it."

"Well, I'm a very special human, Harry," Ginny laughed.

Harry winked at her. "You wanna watch?" he asked.

Ginny looked down at her watch. "I want to have a shower before dinner, but I can watch for a few minutes." She sat down on the grass as the wizards resumed their positions. 

"Ready? Fight!" cried Remus. He jumped forward, swinging his sword across his chest. But Harry had spun out to the left and ended up behind Remus with his sword pointed at his back. He lowered his sword. "Nice move, make it up yourself?" Remus asked.

"Kind of," replied Harry.

"I've gotta go now. I'll see you at dinner Harry," said Ginny, standing up and mounting her broom, flying off into the sky and toward the castle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny lay in her bed, waiting impatiently for the sound of her roommates breathing to become regular. It was nearly 2 in the morning, but as it was a weekend, most of her housemates had been up late drinking butterbeers that had been snuck in and partying.

A few minutes after she was sure everyone had fallen asleep, she pulled back her curtains and climbed out of bed. Still wearing her skirt rolled up, and her uniform blouse and tie, but without blazer and robes, she quickly made her way out of the dorm, through the common room, and out of Gryffindor tower.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She dropped down into the tunnel, finding it already brightly lit by someone else's wand.

"You came," she whispered to Draco.

"Of course," was his reply.

Dropping his wand, he rushed toward her, covering her lips with his.


	4. When he became who he used to be

Draco and Ginny met in the chamber every night for almost a month before everything changed.

Their teachers had notice that they were both always tired. Fortunately, though, no one made the connection between the two of them.

Harry had become increasingly worried. He had mentioned it to Ron a few times, but Ron paid no attention. That is, until it had gone on for almost a month. He started following Ginny around during breaks, and always watching her out of the corner of his eye in the common room and at dinner. He had owled Molly, telling her all about how Ginny's grades were bound to go down, and Molly had immediately owled Ginny about her grades and telling her that this was not a time for late night parties and drinking, but for getting her education. There would be plenty of time for that later.

But Ginny continued to go down into the chamber every night to be with Draco.

But it wasn't to be like this forever. No, something had to go terribly wrong, as was always the case in Ginny's life.

It happened on the night of February 13th. Ginny had been fortunate on this night to have been able to sneak out early. All of her roommates had turned in early. 

She snuck out, and carefully scanned the common room for any remaining students. It was empty, so she ran across it and out the door.

She dropped down into the tunnel, landing in the pile of bones that lay at the bottom.

She found Draco already there.

"You're early," he said quietly.

"So are you," she replied slowly.

"I always come here early. I usually do my schoolwork here; it's a lot easier to concentrate than when I'm around those stupid pricks that call themselves my friends."

He eyed her hungrily. She had on her usual skirt, rolled up high, but also had her top blouse buttons open, drawing his attention. He rushed her, pinning her to the wall of the tunnel and smothering her with his mouth. She moaned quietly.

He slowly slid his hand under her blouse. She stiffened for a minute, but then relaxed. As he slowly started sliding his hand upwards, she stiffened again. She pulled his hand downwards and placed it on her stomach, placing her hand over it and holding it there.

A few minutes later, he pulled his hand away and began running it lightly up and down her exposed thigh. She tried to pull her leg away but, as she was up against the wall, she couldn't. He slid his hand under her skirt and began stroking her through her panties. She pulled away. 

"Draco, stop. I don't…I'm not ready."

He stepped forward and grabbed her wrists, holding them against the wall. He pushed her skirt up and pulled off her panties.

"What are you doing? I said stop!" she squirmed against him, but he was much stronger than her. He pulled out his wand and bonded her hands to the wall, leaving her helpless.

Ripping the remaining clothing from her body, he began touching and grabbing her all over her body.

Tears streamed town her face. "I thought you were different," she sobbed quietly.

Dropping his pants and boxers, he pushed himself inside her violently. "Looks can be deceiving. I happen to be a very good actor."

She screamed in pain as he began moving quickly. He moved faster and faster, completely ignoring her cries for help. All she could do was scream and cry. 

Ginny's mind was becoming numb. She was having trouble comprehending what was happening to her. She felt a little dizzy, her head spinning. 

"Don't pass out on me now, Ginny. You'll ruin my fun," Draco grunted.

Just as the room around her became dark, and she closed her eyes, she distantly heard Draco say "You'd better not tell anyone about this Ginny."

*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Ginny awoke to find herself alone. She was lying on the floor of the cave, her hands no longer bound to the wall. Squinting, she tried to remember the events of the night before.

After several moments, it all came rushing back to her. With a sob, she realized that her body was sore and her wrists bruised. She felt very weak.

She slowly and cautiously climbed to her feet, picking up her forgotten want from the stone floor. She used it to mend her ripped clothing, and quickly dressed herself. 

She walked down the tunnel, using the wall for support, and climbed cautiously out of the tunnel. 

With all her remaining energy spent, she collapsed once again onto the floor of the bathroom.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Ginny woke, feeling extremely comfortable. Keeping her eyes closed, she listened for anyone else in the room.

"Is she awake yet?" Ginny heard from across the room. Footsteps lead right up to her side.

"Shhhh! Don't wake her, Harry dear," came a woman's voice from her other side. 

But that sounded like… "Mum?" Ginny mumbled, opening her eyes and blinking a few times.

There were two faces hovering over her. Her mother and Harry Potter.

Harry was smiling widely. "I'll go get the others," he said before turning and leaving.

Ginny sat up slowly, raising her pillow against the headboard of the hospital bed and leaning back against it in a sitting position.

"How are you feeling, dear?" Molly Weasley asked her only daughter.

"Fine, I suppose. What are you doing here?" Ginny asked. She felt quite wide awake.

"Why, Dumbledore called me, of course! Ginny, do you know what happened to you last night?" 

Ginny looked down at her lap. "No," she said quietly.

"Virginia, you know you can tell me, right?" asked the older woman.

At this time, the hospital wing doors swung open to reveal seven men ranging in age from 17 to 60.

"Charlie!" cried Ginny happily. She hadn't seen her brother for nearly two years. "Dad, Perce…What are you all doing here?" she asked.

None of her brothers, or her father for that matter, were smiling.

"What?" she asked, her happiness at seeing her family fading.

"Are you ok, Gin?" asked Charlie.

"I'm absolutely fine," she replied, trying to hide all of the untamed, negative emotions running through her. 

Fred looked up at Molly. "Does she remember?" he asked.

Molly shook her head. "She says she doesn't."

Ginny could tell that the questions were about to come flying from the men around her, all of her brothers except for Bill, her father, and Harry. She needed an excuse to get out, and she needed it fast.

She drooped her eyelids a little. "I'm feeling rather tired," she said quietly to her mother. "I think I'm going to go back to sleep now."

She pulled her pillow down, sliding back down under the covers and relaxing.

"Alright! Everyone out! She needs her sleep." Molly chased them out of the hospital wing, leaving Ginny alone in the silence to think about the events of the night before.

(A/N – Ok so if you're wondering about what I said in my profile about all my stories being DracoGinny…I still mean it. I never said they would always be happily in love…I just said they would be together. I also never said that Draco was going to go completely out of cannon and be a non-bastard in all of my stories. Obviously, this is a perfect example of bastard!Draco. He will be like this in stories to come, also. 

Anyways, thanks for the reviews, they are really appreciated. It is really difficult to write a story like this, but I wanted to show through my writing what I think of rapists. They all deserve to die. Anyways…thanks a lot and keep reviewing!)


	5. When they found her

"Hey, sexy! Can I get a ride?" Ginny called into the window of the black car that had pulled up beside her on the road.

"How much?" asked the man in the front seat.

"Eighty," Ginny replied confidently.

She stood back a bit to give the mat a full view of her body through the window. She was wearing a black leather mini skirt and black knee high boots, with a red tube top which barely covered her breasts and came only to the bottom of her ribs.

"Eighty?" the man replied. "Jeez…alright, get in."

Ginny opened up the passenger door and climbed in.

The man drove into an empty lot and parked his car.

"In the car?" Ginny asked.

"Would you like to come home and meet my wife and kids, instead?" the man replied quickly.

Ginny fluttered her eyelashes at him before turning and crawling between the two front seats and into the back, making a show of shaking her ass in his face.

The man started at her for a minute before getting out through his door and climbing in the back door. He closed it behind him and, crawling so he was leaning over her body, ran his finger down from her neck, down her cleavage, her stomach, and veering of to the left when he reached her hips. He ran his hand up her thigh and under her skirt, stroking her.

She sighed. "You got a name for me to scream?" she asked, seductively.

"Call me frank," he said, pulling off her panties.

"Frank…" she said as if testing it out, while reaching for his belt buckle.

He helped her take off his pants and boxers and, kneading her breasts, pushed into her.

"Oohh…Frank."

* * *

Ginny dropped the keys to her apartment onto the table and, picking up her wand, reversed the charm that covered the scars on her arm.

She went into the bathroom and pulled a blade out of he drawer. She dragged it roughly across her arm, thinking of what a disgusting, dirty whore she was.

She looked around the grubby bathroom, with mildew in the shower and a cracked mirror, and a toilet that clogged up almost daily.

"It's not as if I deserve any better," she whispered bitterly to herself.

She cleaned up her arm with her wand and covered up the scars once more, before dropping into bed.

* * *

"Can I get a salad? No chicken, no dressing."

"Holy fuck, Gin. You're going to starve to death," Ginny's friend and roommate Hali said as the cashier at McDonalds punched in her order.

"I won't make any money if I'm fat," Ginny replied quietly.

"And for yourself?" the cashier asked Hali.

"Can I get the McDeal with a large fries and large Sprite?"

"Jesus…" Ginny shook her head.

"I don't get fat. I eat whatever I want," Hali pointed out to Ginny when the cashier went to get the fries.

"Yes, well…I wasn't blessed with your metabolism."

"You know…you could charge like 50 percent more. Your accent is sexy."

"Yeah…You try getting in some guy's car and telling him you're charging 120 bucks for a blow job. I promise not to poke your bruises too hard."

"Ah…There's nothing like a little whore humor," Hali sighed as the found seats at the back of the restaurant.

"American men are pigs," Ginny said thoughtfully. "I mean…you're having sex with them and yet they won't even tell you their real names."

"Yeah…I'm sure British men are much more respectable in the back of their cars. Probably pay better too..."

"Evening, ladies," a short, very gay looking man with brilliantly blonde hair and unbelievably tight leather pants sat down at their table with his meal.

"It's ten o'clock in the morning, Adam," Ginny sighed, nibbling on a piece of salad. "Male strippers…Honestly," she muttered under her breath.

"Somebody had a late night," the man replied cheerfully.

"How was your night, Adam?" Hali asked.

"I got almost triple my wages in tips," Adam replied happily.

"Oh God…" Ginny's eyes suddenly flew open and she went stiff in shock. "Oh…bloody fucking hell…" she jumped up and attempted to slip silently past a tall, messy black haired man and hide in the bathroom, but the man turned just as she was walking behind him and bumped right into her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Are you alri-"

_Don't recognize me…please don't recognize me._

Ginny squeezed her eyes shut as if bracing herself for a blow.

"Ginny?" The man asked, confused.

Ginny chewed her lip silently. "Er…Hi, Harry."

The man's jaw dropped. "What are you…I mean, where have you been all these years? What are you doing in America? What are you _wearing_?"

Ginny sighed and rested her face in her hands. Hali chose this moment to stand up and introduce herself.

"Harry, did she say?" she asked, shaking his hand. "I'm Hali."

Adam stood up slowly behind Hali and walked around her, softly pushing her out of his way and standing right in front of Harry, his nose almost touching Harry's chin. Harry checked out the body of the man in front of him indiscreetly. Adam raised his hand and pushed Harry's fringe up and stared at his forehead. His jaw dropped.

"Are you…Harry Potter?"

"Adam…" Ginny said nervously, "How do you know who Harry Potter is…"

"Well he's only the sexiest savior of the-"

"Shhh!" Harry said urgently.

"But you're a muggle…" Ginny said slowly.

"Excuse me?" Adam asked in an offended tone. "I'm no muggle. You don't get leather pants this tight without a shrinking charm. _You're_ the muggle here."

"I'm not a muggle! I…Ok…well, Hali's still a muggle, right? Hali? Are you a muggle?"

"Am I a what, now?" Hali looked completely lost.

"Can we please take this conversation outside?" Harry asked, scanning the restaurant quickly to make sure nobody was watching them.

"Er…Yeah. Hali, could you excuse us?" Ginny asked.

"By all means," Hali replied slowly, waving her hand towards the door lazily.

The trio walked out the door into the parking lot.

"So…what the fuck are you doing in America, Gin?" Harry asked after a few seconds silence.

"Well I…wait. Hold on one second…did you say _savior_?" Ginny asked Adam. "Harry…Did you kill the Dark Lord?"

"Only like two years ago!" Adam interrupted.

"Well I don't exactly keep up to date with the wizarding world, if that's ok with you," Ginny replied.

"How do you know Harry Potter, anyways?" Adam asked.

"We went to school together," Ginny said. "My brother is his best friend."

"Uh…" Harry was about to say something, but changed his mind.

"What?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Is there something wrong with Ron?"

"Oh no…There is _nothing_ wrong with Ron," Harry replied assuredly.

"You went to _Hogwarts_?" Adam cut in.

"Unfortunately…" Ginny replied.

"Ginny," Harry said sharply.

"What?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, that. Well…It's a long story. Harry…I don't want anyone to know I'm here. Please don't tell anyone."

"Well I'm kind of here with-" Harry was cut off.

"_Ginny_?" Came an all too familiar voice from behind Harry.

"Ron…" Harry finished his sentence.

"_Ron_?" Ginny said, eyes wide. "no… Oh, no no no. No way. Why the hell is this happening to me?"

Harry was standing next to Harry, mouth gaping open and not saying a word. "Harry…What's going on…" he eventually asked shakily.

Ginny sighed and sat down on the cement, hiding her face in her arms. She sat in silence for a few minutes and then raised her head slightly. "I'm not coming back."

"Hey…Don't you play keeper for the English National Team?" Adam said excitedly to Ron.

Ron merely raised an eyebrow at Adam and went back to staring at his sister. "Gin…What are you doing here?"

"You can't tell anyone, Ron. I don't want anyone to worry about me. I'm fine."

"You don't want anyone to worry about you? Ginny…we've been worrying about you non-stop for the past 6 years! If you came home no one would need to worry about you anymore!"

"I can't go back," Ginny whispered sadly.

"Why not?" Harry asked quietly.

_I don't deserve that life._

"I just…I live here now. I can't leave."

"Sure you can, Gin. Hali and I will survive here without you. You can get a real job over there," Adam said softly.

"What do you mean a real job?" Ron interjected. "What's wrong with the job she has now. What job _do_ you have now, Gin?"

"Oh, Jesus," Ginny cried.

"How about if we don't go into that now," Adam said lightly.

At that moment the door to McDonalds opened and Hali stepped out into the parking lot.

"Ginny…Are you going back to England?" Hali asked resignedly.

"No," Ginny said.

"Yes," Ron and Harry both said at the same time.

"No…I don't want to. I don't have to."

"Ginny…we could all go," Adam said, excitement leaking into his voice.

Hali gasped. "That would be fucking awesome! I want to move to England!" she said excitedly.

"No!" Ginny cried angrily, climbing up off the cement.

"Ginny, I'll tell Mum," Ron said argumentatively.

"I'll obliviate you both!" Ginny glowered.

"You'll do what, now?" Hali asked, confused.

"Aah!" Ginny screamed.

"Just come home for a little while…You can always come back if you really want to," Harry said hopefully.

"No."

"Well at least come to our hotel room so we can talk about this!" Ron said exasperatedly.

"Fine!" Ginny gave in.

* * *

(A/N – Wooooh! Finally an update! After almost a year, this story is no longer on hold. Sorry about the long wait. I hereby vow never to wait that long for an update ever again. Thanks for reading, please review!) 


	6. When she helped explain

(A/N – This is **extremely** important. If I get one more email which consists entirely of someone telling me to update immediately and which is writtenentirely in caps, I will delay on purpose. It is disrespectful. I update as frequently as I can, and if this isn't fast enough for you, stop reading it! If you are an author, you should know how difficult it is to update as often as you would like, and if you are not an author, you have no right to assume that you may understand.  
I'm done ranting now.  
Please enjoy the story!)

"Oh my god…Ginny look at this bathtub!" came Hali's voice from the bathroom of the hotel room.

"Um…Ron?" Ginny asked, scanning the room. "Why is there only one bed?"

"What? Oh…um…" Ron stumbled.

"One has been taken out for cleaning," Harry jumped in quickly.

"Oh…" Ginny raised an eyebrow but did not push the matter.

"We're so high!" Hali cried eagerly from the balcony.

"We can't take her with us," Ron said suddenly.

"What?" Ginny responded.

"Why not?" Adam jumped in.

"Because she can't find out about us. She'd find out somehow if she came," Ron answered.

"Why can't we tell her?" Adam pressed.

"Um…because it's illegal, maybe?" Ron rolled his eyes.

"So?" asked Adam. "Who's she going to tell?"

"That's not the point…" Ron trailed off.

"I don't think anything particularly bad could come of telling her. Adam's right, who is she going to tell?" Harry pointed out.

Ron was visibly angered by this but looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eye and said nothing about it. "Fine. Do what you want." He walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

Harry slumped. "Ron…" he walked over to the bathroom door and knocked. "Ron, let me in."

"Forget it, Harry," Ron responded. Harry sat down against the wall next to the door.

Adam gave Harry and understanding and reassuring smile. Ginny just looked confused.

"Ok…let's tell her." Harry stood as Ginny went into the small kitchen where Hali was admiring the stainless steel appliances and brought the awestruck woman back into the bedroom.

"Hali, we have something big to tell you, and you're probably not going to believe us at first, but you have to trust us, ok?" Adam commenced.

"We would never lie to you, Hali," Ginny said.

"Er…ok?" Hali looked slightly worried

o

Harry, Ginny and Adam explained all about the wizarding world to Hali. They answered all of her questions, and she seemed to completely believe them.

"Do you have any more questions?" Ginny asked her best friend.

Hali looked around at the people she was talking to and suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, you guys had me so good! I totally almost believed you, too! That was great!" she continued her snickering until she realized she was the only one laughing. "Um…guys? Haha…ha? Oh…Are you, um, not joking?"

They all shook their heads.

"Oh…Ok…"

"Do you…believe us?" Adam asked cautiously.

"Um…yes. Yeah, I believe you."

"And are you going to tell anyone?" Adam enquired further.

"Of course not. I don't want you to get thrown in prison."

The trio breathed a sigh of relief. Harry wandered over to the bathroom door, which had remained closed for the entire twenty minutes since Ron had gone in. He knocked lightly.

"Ron?"

"What?" Ron replied loudly.

"Could you come out now? Please? I want to talk to you."

"I'm not talking to you in front of them."

Harry flushed slightly. "Could you guys, um, excuse us for a few minutes?" Harry glanced down at his watch and pulled out his wallet. "Go down to the lobby and get something to eat. It's nearly dinner time anyways. We'll join you soon."

He tossed his wallet to Ginny and turned back to the bathroom door.

As soon as the hotel room door clicked and locked, Harry knocked on the bathroom door again. "They're gone, Ron."

The door swung open and Ron's hand snaked out, grabbing Harry's and pulling him in before closing the door again. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub.

"I really didn't want to tell them. What if it gets out? It'll be all over the papers."

Harry sat down close to Ron and ran his hand over his back soothingly. "It won't get out, I promise."

"Everything we do gets into the papers," Ron sighed.

"I know. We've been really lucky that they haven't found out about us yet."

"Yeah…that won't last much longer. It's so unfair."

Harry smiled as his fingers entwined with those of the man sitting next to him. "Don't you think it's worth it, for what puts you in the public eye? You love playing professional quidditch, don't you?"

"Yes…"

"And you love me, right?"

Ron grinned, "Of course I do."

"Well then…" Harry trailed off. Ron leaned slowly towards Harry to kiss him, but Harry backed away.

"None of that now. They could come back any time."

"Just one," Ron breathed, his finger brushing against his partner's lips.

Harry sighed and gave in.

o

Ginny, Adam and Hali were sitting in a small, quiet outdoor café that adjoined the hotel. Ginny had a diet coke, Adam a bagel, and Hali a plate of French fries and gravy, with a large slice of chocolate cheese cake waiting to the side.

Harry's and Ron's hands parted just as they came around the corner to join the others at their table.

The waitress came over to take their orders.

"We'll share a plate of fries and a chocolate shake, please," Harry requested.

"And could we get an appetizer of chicken wings for all of us, as well, please?" Ron added.

"Sure," said the waitress. "It'll be right out."

"Why aren't you eating, Gin?" Harry asked after the waitress had left.

"I already ate today…" she replied quietly, obviously uncomfortable at the attention to her diet.

"Oh…well in case you haven't noticed, most people eat three times a day. Well, except for Ron. That's more like ten to fifteen times, but that's irrelevant."

"She doesn't eat much," Hali interjected. "So, when are we going to England?" she asked, changing the subject.

"We're leaving on Friday…so four days," Ron said.

"How are we getting there?" Ginny asked, happy that the topic of the conversation was off her.

"Well, we were going to apparate, but since we can't now, I guess we'll have to fly the muggle way."

"Ooo…I've never been on a plane before!" said Hali excitedly, licking the chocolate sauce off of her fork.

"Me neither," said Harry, and Ron agreed.

"What? Well then how did you get here?" asked Hali, confused.

"…We apparated."

At Hali's even more confused look, Ginny explained. "It means they basically disappeared in England and appeared here. By magic."

"Sweet! I wish I could do that." Hali said excitedly. "I could get out of anything. If someone didn't want to pay-"

Ginny coughed loudly, cutting her friend off.

"It would be convenient…" Hali said, defeated.

"It certainly is…" Ginny said quietly.

Harry and Ron exchanged a confused look but said nothing.

"Let's go clothes shopping," said Ron suddenly.

Hali's eyes brightened.


	7. When she came home

(I have only one thing to say, and that is: _fucking writer's block_!

Enjoy.)

"Are you sure there's nothing you need to do before you leave?" Ron asked Ginny. "Don't you have to quit your job, say goodbye to friends…anything?"  
"Trust me," Ginny said tiredly. "There is nothing here that I particularly mind leaving behind."  
"Well then why didn't you want to come home?"  
Not in the mood for making up lies, Ginny just shrugged.  
"So…" Ron said, searching for a change of subject. "Your friend is gay, yeah?"  
"Which one?" Ginny asked. "They both are."  
"Really…So you don't mind that, then," Ron said, more as a statement that a question.  
"No, why would I?"  
"I don't know. Some people do."  
"Idiots…" Ginny mumbled.  
"No kidding…" Ron sighed.  
The pair of red-heads were walking up the street towards their hotel from the corner store which hid the gateway to the wizarding side of the city. Neither Harry nor Ron had had any pumpkin juice since they had arrived in New York, and they were missing it, so they had gone to get some. It was mid evening and the sunset was barely visible between the tall buildings.  
"Hey!" a tall teen with sandy-blond hair ran towards them as they walked up the street. "Aren't you Ron Weasley?"  
"Yeah," Ron shook the boy's hand.  
"I'm a huge fan! Congratulations on the world cup last year." The boy seemed almost hyper with excitement.  
"Thank you," Ron smiled.  
"You don't have a pen on you, do you?" the boy asked. Ron nodded. "I don't have any paper. Could you…sign my arm?"  
Ron laughed. "Sure…why not." He pulled his wand out of his pocket, muttered a spell, and quickly scrawled his signature on the boys forearm.  
"Thank you _so_ much." The boy ran off.  
"So you're really playing for England, eh?" Ginny asked conversationally. "That's great."  
"Yeah… I love it.  
"You Keeping?"  
"Yep," Ron replied proudly. "And I don't need to be tricked into thinking I've been given Felix Felicis to play well, either."  
Ginny laughed.  
Ron pulled out the room key when they arrived back at the hotel.  
"Is everyone all packed up and ready to go?" Ron asked, once he and Harry had poured tall glasses of pumpkin juice.  
There was a nod of ascent around the room.  
"Great. Harry and I have decided it's worth the risk of side-along apparating Hali over, because the flight is just too long. How much luggage do you think you can carry, Gin?"  
"I can do my share," she replied.  
"Adam?"  
"Plenty. I can make more trips, as well, if necessary," Adam volunteered.  
"That would definitely be helpful," Harry replied greatfully.  
Adam noticed that Harry and Ron were sitting quite close together. Not quite so close as to draw attention to themselves, but close enough for a sharp eye to catch it. Adam said nothing, but smiled.  
"Okay, shall we go?" Ginny asked, picking up a suitcase and a duffel bag.  
o  
"Look…I'm sorry I left like that. I'm sorry you were worried about me all those years. I'm sorry…I just had to get away. I needed to be alone, and I needed it right then. I was young, mum…"  
"You never wrote, you never came to visit…" there were tears of joy in Molly Weasley's eyes at being reunited with her daughter after all those long years.  
"I still might go back…"  
"Is there anything we can do to convince you to stay?"  
Ginny shrugged.  
"Well, you must be tired after that long apparition. Your room is just as you left it." Molly ushered Ginny up the stairs.  
o  
Molly walked into the living room where Hali, Harry, Ron, and Adam were sitting by the fire drinking pumpkin juice. She settled herself down on a chair across from them.  
"So…where did you find her?"  
"I found her in a muggle restaurant," Harry said softly. "Ron was down the street getting something while I went to get us coffees. I found her running for the bathroom. When Ron came back the four of us were standing out in the parking lot."  
"What exactly was she running from when she came to America, anyway? She always told me I'd never understand."  
"You wouldn't, unless you'd grown up in the wizarding world," Ron said.  
"You're a muggle?" Molly asked, sounding surprised.  
Hali shrugged. "So I'm told," she sighed.  
"Well, I'm sure the four of you are very tired. Ron, Harry, are you going back to your flat or staying here for the night?"

"I think we'll head back. Hali and Adam can have my room, mum," Ron volunteered.

"Alright. Come back for breakfast tomorrow, alright?"

Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and apparated home.

"Right, well, you two stay right there and I'll go get the room ready for you."

"Thanks so much for letting us stay, Mrs. Weasley," Adam said greatfully.

"Certainly, dear."

Once Molly left the room, Hali picked up her glass of pumpkin juice and sniffed it. "It really is an odd flavour," she said strangely, and sipped it slowly.

Adam laughed.

Just then, Hermione Granger walked into the living room with her nose buried in a large book, a quill in her ink stained hand and a wad of parchment under her arm. She looked up fro her book to find two strange people sitting in her favorite area to sit while she does the work she didn't manage to finish up at the ministry.

"Oh…you must be Ginny's friends."

"Wow…way too many famous people for one week," Adam rubbed his eyes. "Hermione Granger?"

Hermione was famous for her research which ultimately lead to Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord.

Hermione flushed slightly and flopped into an armchair. "That would be me."

"I'm Adam Woodrow." Adam smiled widely at Hermione, a tiny amount of adrenaline leaking into his system. The same thing was happening to Hali and Hermione.

"Hali Delleman," Hali grinned.

The three sat in a comfortably silence until Molly returned to show Hali and Adam to their room.

(A/N – Just so it's clear, that adrenalin rush is what gay-dar feels like.)


End file.
